“I Need You To…Say Please”

My husband and I recently refinanced our home with a mortgage company. If you’ve ever been through a home closing or a refinancing, you know there are many papers to sign and the process can take up to an hour.

During our closing, the mortgage company representative continually said, “I need you to sign here.” Not once did she ever say please. By the end of the closing, I didn’t want to be ordered to do one more thing.

The same day, I stopped in a retail store to return an item I purchased the week before. When I approached the sales associate at the counter, she told me, “I need you to go to register 3.” The sales associate at register 3 returned my item, but told me, “I need you to fill in your address and sign at the bottom.”

I then went to a medical appointment and after signing in, the receptionist said, “I need you to take a seat.” Once I was in an exam room, the nurse said, “I need you to put this gown on.” The doctor came in and told me, “I need you to take a deep breath.”

Would you please notice the pattern here?

What is happening to the etiquette of being polite? Please do not demand someone to do anything for you. The practice of being polite in our society is deteriorating.